Usually when a movie stars Brad Pitt, his recognizable face is all over the posters. On the second teaser poster for his new film, World War Z, he’s nowhere to be seen. Instead it’s the terrifying image of a literal mountain of zombies climbing on top of each other to take down a helicopter. The image is bold and seems to say that, though Pitt is the star, the zombies are the real force behind the film.

Directed by Marc Forster, based on the book by Max Brooks, World War Z opens June 21. See the full poster below, and keep an eye out for the trailer later tonight at midnight PST. Read More »

At this point, we’ve had so many stories and suspicions about World War Z, the Marc Forster-directed adaptation of Max Brooks‘ novel about the aftermath of a zombie pandemic. Extensive reshoots have led many to assume that the film is a mess, and the first footage released a couple days ago didn’t do any favors, especially for those who want as many details of Brooks’ novel preserved as possible, and didn’t take kindly to the film’s fast zombies.

But now the first full trailer is here, and we can start to evaluate what Forster & Co. have actually made. Happily, the film looks a bit better than that initial footage glimpse suggested, even if it probably isn’t the movie that die-hard fans wanted. Check out the trailer below. Read More »

Marc Forster‘s adaptation of the Max Brooks novel World War Z ran into some problems a few months ago when it had to go in for extensive rewrites and reshoots late in the game. Starring Brad Pitt as the Guy Who Has to Save the World (very loosely based on the primary narrator of the novel, a UN inspector whose work documents a zombie pandemic) the film was pushed from a late 2012 release back to June 21, 2013.

The trailer for World War Z will hit on Thursday, but in the meantime check out a bit of footage thanks to an Entertainment Tonight tease for the show’s coverage of the film. The talking heads aren’t nearly as irritating as they typically are. OK, they’re still pretty irritating, but at least you’ve got a chance to get a look at what Forster has done with loads and loads of fast-moving digital zombies. Read More »

Max Brooks‘ World War Z may be experiencing some turbulence on its way to the big screen, but that’s not getting in the way of his blossoming Hollywood career. Among his upcoming projects are a thriller titled Devolution, which Lost director Jack Bender is developing and will direct for Legendary. While Brooks came up with the idea, it’s David Leslie Johnson (Wrath of the Titans, The Walking Dead) who’ll pen the script. More details after the jump.

It took Paramount years to get the zombie apocalypse thriller World War Z off the ground, but now that the production is actually up and running, it seems the studio is very eager to keep moving forward with the property. The studio and director Marc Forster reportedly have their fingers crossed that the upcoming film will become the first in a trilogy, all with star Brad Pitt at this center.

Considering how sequel-crazy studios are nowadays, and how hot zombies are at the moment, this isn’t much of a shocker. What’s a little more surprising is that if this plan works out, it’ll be Pitt’s first time leading a major franchise of his own. Yup, Pitt’s somehow managed to build up a two-decade, A-list career without a single Mission: Impossible or Marvel superhero series under his belt. More details on the possible film series after the jump.

Whether you’re talking about George Romero, Danny Boyle, Edgar Wright or any one else who has made a famous contribution to the zombie genre, some of the most important things to note are the differences in the undead. Do they run? What do they eat? How do they eat? Is the transformation fast? These are all questions any zombie filmmaker worth his weight in brains has to ask. Director Marc Forsteris currently adaptingMax Brooks‘ zombie best-seller World War Z with Brad Pitt and, despite some major issues fans have with the rumored changes, a new video shows he’s not only made those decisions, he’s made frightening ones. Read More »

After years of being stuck in development hell, the big-screen adaptation of Max Brooks‘ beloved novel World War Zis finally getting off the ground. As of this summer, the film has finally entered production with Marc Forster directing a cast led by Brad Pitt. Brooks recently took a trip to the set in Glasgow (standing in for Philadelphia), and had a few things to share about his experience there.

Brooks’ original novel is comprised of after-the-fact recollections of the catastrophic zombie war, as told to UN employee Gerry Lane. However, the film takes a different format, following Gerry (Pitt) as he races around the world working to stop the ongoing zombie pandemic. Read more about Brooks’ thoughts on the adaptation after the jump.

The subtitle of Max Brooks‘ awesome book World War Z is “An Oral History of The Zombie War.” From page one, the book takes place in a world where zombies and humans have already waged an epic war and now a researcher is traveling the world, talking to survivors to try and put together some of the pieces. Brooks’ structure gives the book an almost documentary feel where characters are forced to relive some of the most frightening moments of their lives.

Reading the book, it’s pretty easy to assume that a movie adaptation wouldn’t be a to-the-letter adaptation. There really aren’t any characters to latch onto and it’s mostly vignettes. Paramount has now confirmed that assumption with their official plot description of the currently shooting movie starring Brad Pitt and directed by Marc Forster. World War Z, the movie, takes place as the zombie outbreak is happening with a U.N. employee racing to stop it. Read the full description and more after the jump. Read More »

December 2012 just got a bit more interesting. The end of the year is already anchored by the first chapter in Peter Jackson’s two-film adaptation of The Hobbit, on Dec 14, and the week following was crowded with three potentially big films: Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, Phillip Noyce’s Hunter Killer and Gore Verbinski’s Lone Ranger all on the 21st. Then, only four days later, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained arrives as the most unlikely Christmas movie ever.

Now Paramount has set Marc Forster‘s adaptation of the Max Brooks novel World War Z for Dec. 21, 2012 as well. This one is also a postentially big picture, as Brad Pitt plays UN officer Gerry Lane, who is trying to compile a report of the aftermath of a zombie uprising. So which of these films will blink and shift to another date? I’m looking at you, Hunter Killer.

In addition to the release date, we’ve got a few new images of Brad Pitt on a boat in full post-apocalypse regalia; check those out below. Read More »

Another week, another Bryan Cranston casting story. The Breaking Bad star was recently forced to drop out of Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad due to scheduling conflicts, but don’t think that’s slowed his meteoric rise any. The actor is currently in negotiations to join World War Z, Marc Forster‘s adaptation of Max Brooks‘ acclaimed novel.

Subtitled An Oral History of the Zombie War, the book takes place in an apocalyptic future in which mankind is fighting back against the zombie threat. The film will star Mireille Enos and James Badge Dale, along with Brad Pitt as United Nations employee Gerry Lane. Read on after the jump.